A Most Appetizing Night of Promise raises $54,000

June 05, 2012

The Cradle’s seventh annual tasting event and fundraiser, Night of Promise, took place on Saturday, April 28 at Glenview’s Abt Electronics – Cradle’s gracious host every year since the inaugural Night of Promise in 2006.

An electronics and home appliance superstore isn’t what naturally comes to mind when you think about a benefit for an adoption agency, but the space at Abt works beautifully. The state-of-the-art demonstration kitchens surrounding the store’s atrium provide the perfect staging area for our chefs’ tasting stations.

This year’s Night of Promise showcased the offerings of thirteen Chicago-area restaurants and caterers: from a strawberry gazpacho with smoked crème fraîche served by Abigail’s American Bistro of Highland Park; to pan seared sea scallops with bacon polenta and micro fennel shoots prepared by Glenview House; to a tempting array of homemade cookies, cakes and pies from DeEtta’s Bakery of Naperville.

While the 160 guests were sampling the delicious cuisine, they were serenaded by the Chicago Cuatro Orchestra Ensemble, featuring 14-year-old guitarist and “Cradle baby” Diego Gonzales. They also had a chance to place bids on items in the silent auction, including 2012 Ryder Cup practice round tickets. Tickets to all three days of the Ryder Cup main event, coming up in September at Medinah Country Club, sparked a bidding war during the live auction. But the evening wasn’t just about food, golf, the $1,000 cash raffle and other enticements.

Night of Promise is about promoting awareness of adoption and The Cradle’s unparalleled services for pregnant women, children and families. During the evening’s program, guests watched a video created by Izabella Cordeiro in which a Cradle Birthparent Counselor, a Cradle nurse, the Director of Post Adoption Liaisons and a Cradle Foundation officer talk about their work. The funds raised at Night of Promise support everything from diapers for the babies in the Nursery, to The Cradle’s toll-free birthparent hotline, to outreach activities by The Sayers Center for African American Adoption.

Founded in Evanston in 1923, The Cradle is a licensed, accredited, not-for-profit, nonsectarian adoption and child welfare agency whose mission is to benefit children by providing education, guidance and lifelong support to create, sustain and preserve nurturing families. The Cradle is the only U.S. adoption agency to operate a 24-hour onsite infant nursery. More than 15,000 children have found permanent, loving families with The Cradle’s assistance over the past 89 years.